Reply to UCLA--thoughts?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "UCLA--thoughts?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Have a current out-of-state freshman at UCLA. Being there has definitely increased her independence and drive. Obviously there are great academics—all classes taught by professors with TAs/discussion groups for the big 200 people intro courses. Students do have to go to office hours if they want to speak with a professor—the professors aren’t going to reach out to students. The overall student vibe isn’t competitive—there is much more of a “we’re all in this together” mind-set.

Students really have to strongly go after what they want at a big public like UCLA—there is no hand holding. She has gotten all of her classes except the freshman cluster they hype so much, joined four clubs (two of which required applications), met with an advisor, gone to sporting events, the beach, the Getty Museum, etc. Got a summer internship.  This has taken quite a bit of hustle though. Students have to be organized and proactive to make the most of all the opportunities there.   I think this will serve her well when she enters the working world. With all that said, UCLA can feel over crowded and it would be very easy to get lost in the shuffle there if they don’t push themselves to get involved.

This year school has really cracked down on any protests—there is nothing allowed overnight, no encampments, nothing blocking students way, no pro-Palestine/Hamas (a couple pro-Palestinian clubs were banned). It is a public school though so there are people who stand on Bruin walk to pitch whatever they believe in as students walk to class  (religion, pro-Trump/anti-Trump, free food samples, clubs, etc)—it is regulated so not too many at the same time, and students can ignore them, but they are there and can be annoying. And yes there are occasional homeless that wander on to campus from Westwood. There is also a lot of UC security presence.

The food on campus is great—the quality is good and there are tons of options. There have been a few 1-2 day food service worker strikes this year but school makes sure several places are still open even during the strikes.

Definitely give some thought to the housing—it’s great they guarantee four years and have a lot of options from dorms to suites and apartments, but to offer that guarantee, they cram students into triples. And not just freshmen. Fortunately unlike some schools, students don’t have to plan their housing in the fall for the following year. Continuing students submit housing requests in Feb that are confirmed in April. And there are a bunch of independent apartments in walking distance to campus that are full of students so eventually those that can afford it may choose to at least go for a 2 bedroom/4 person apartment. This also doesn’t have to be planned that far in advance, but may have a 12 mos lease.

Logistically UCLA is easy out-of-state. It’s a reasonable distance from LAX with plenty of flights and hotels near school so you don’t have to book too far in advance. 
Hope this helps!

Good luck with your decision![/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics